Neurodevelopmental disorders in children have become a significant global public health concern,impacting child health worldwide.In China,the current intervention model for high-risk infants involves early diagnosis and early treatment.However,in recent years,overseas studies have explored novel preventive early intervention strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders in high-risk infants,achieving promising results.This article provides a comprehensive review of the optimal timing,methods,and intervention models of the preventive early intervention strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders in high-risk infants.The aim is to enhance the awareness and knowledge of healthcare professionals regarding preventive early intervention strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders in high-risk infants,facilitate clinical research and application of such interventions in China,and ultimately reduce the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders in this high-risk population.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(3):297-301]

The incidence and disability rate of neurodevelopmental disorders in children are high,making it a significant public health issue affecting children's health globally. Neurodevelopmental disorders are particularly common in children with congenital heart disease (CHD),with clinical characteristics varying by type of CHD,surgical approach,age stage,and the presence of different complications or comorbidities. In recent years,based on the intervention model of "early diagnosis and early treatment," foreign studies have begun to explore new techniques for preventive early intervention in high-risk children with neurodevelopmental disorders,achieving promising results. This paper reviews the clinical characteristics of neurodevelopmental disorders associated with CHD,aiming to provide a theoretical basis for implementing new preventive early intervention techniques for children with CHD,thereby further reducing the incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders associated with CHD.

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 system has been widely used for genome engineering and transcriptional regulation in many different organisms. Current CRISPR-activation (CRISPRa) platforms often require multiple components because of inefficient transcriptional activation. Here, we fused different phase-separation proteins to dCas9-VPR (dCas9-VP64-P65-RTA) and observed robust increases in transcriptional activation efficiency. Notably, human NUP98 (nucleoporin 98) and FUS (fused in sarcoma) IDR domains were best at enhancing dCas9-VPR activity, with dCas9-VPR-FUS IDR (VPRF) outperforming the other CRISPRa systems tested in this study in both activation efficiency and system simplicity. dCas9-VPRF overcomes the target strand bias and widens gRNA designing windows without affecting the off-target effect of dCas9-VPR. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using phase-separation proteins to assist in the regulation of gene expression and support the broad appeal of the dCas9-VPRF system in basic and clinical applications.
Humans ; Transcriptional Activation ; RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Gene Expression Regulation ; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics*

In 2017, China achieved the target of zero indigenous malaria case for the first time, and has been certified as malaria free by World Health Organization in 2021. To further summarize the historical achievements and technical experiences of the elimination program, a project on the Roadmap Analysis and Verification for Malaria Elimination in China was carried out. Results of the project were compiled and published as the Atlas of Malaria Transmission in China (The Atlas). The Atlas using modern digital information technologies, has been supported by various data from 24 malaria endemic provinces of China since 1950, to assess the changes in malaria epidemic patterns from 1950 to 2019 at national and provincial levels. The Atlas is designed as two volumes, including a total of 1850 thematic maps and more than 130 charts, consisting of introductory maps, thematic maps of malaria epidemic and control at national and provincial levels. It objectively and directly shows the epidemic history, evolution process, and great achievements of the national malaria control and elimination program in China. The Atlas has important reference value for summing up historical experience in the national malaria elimination program of China, and malaria control and elimination in other endemic countries in the world.
Humans ; Malaria/prevention & control* ; China/epidemiology*

With the progress of globalization and the improvement of transportation, a public health emergency can spread across country's boundary in a short period of time from its original place to other areas or regions, posing public health threatens. Public health emergencies not only affect human-animal/plant-environmental health, but also have long-term implications for social development, so the public health emergency response has gone beyond general public health and requires an integrated and comprehensive One Health approach. This paper analyzes the problems and shortcomings of China's current public health emergency response system in a view of One Health and put forward the recommendations based on One Health concept on integrality, collaboration, development and sustainability of public health emergency response. These recommendations can be used as reference to further optimize the response system of public health emergencies in China.
Animals ; Humans ; One Health ; Public Health ; Emergencies ; Environmental Health ; China

Schistosomiasis has been endemic in China for more than 2 000 years, which causes huge morbidity, social and economic burdens. Guided by the national specific strategic programs and criteria for schistosomiasis, tremendous achievements have been gained for schistosomiasis elimination in China. This paper reviews the progress of schistosomiasis control and endemic status of schistosomiasis in China during the period from 2012 to 2021, analyzes the challenges to achieve the goal of schistosomiasis elimination in China by 2030, and proposes suggestions for future schistosomiasis control programs.

This report presented the endemic status of schistosomiasis and analyzed the data collected from the national schistosomiasis prevention and control system and national schistosomiasis surveillance sites in the People’s Republic of China at a national level in 2021. Among the 12 provinces (municipality and autonomous region) endemic for schistosomiasis in China, Shanghai Municipality, Zhejiang Province, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region continued to consolidate the achievements of schistosomiasis elimination, and Sichuan and Jiangsu provinces maintained the criteria of transmission interruption, while Yunnan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces maintained the criteria of transmission control by the end of 2021. A total of 451 counties (cites, districts) were found to be endemic for schistosomiasis in China in 2021, with 27 571 endemic villages covering 73 250 600 people at risk of infections. Among the 451 endemic counties (cities, districts), 75.17% (339/451), 22.17% (100/451) and 2.66% (12/451) achieved the criteria of elimination, transmission interruption and transmission control of schistosomiasis, respectively. By the end of 2021, 29 037 cases with advanced schistosomiasis were documented in China. In 2021, 4 405 056 individuals received serological tests and 72 937 were sero-positive. A total of 220 629 individuals received stool examinations and 3 were positive. In 2021, snail survey was performed in 19 291 endemic villages in China and Oncomelania snails were found in 7 026 villages, accounting for 36.42% of all surveyed villages, with 12 villages identified with emerging snail habitats. Snail survey was performed at an area of 686 574.46 hm² and 191 159.91 hm² snail habitats were found, including 1 063.08 hm² emerging snail habitats and 5 113.87 hm² reemerging snail habitats. In 2021, 525 878 bovines were raised in the schistosomiasis endemic areas of China, and 115 437 received serological examinations, with 231 positives detected. Among the 128 719 bovines received stool examinations, no positives were identified. In 2021, there were 19 927 schistosomiasis patients receiving praziquantel chemotherapy, and 729 113 person-time individuals and 256 913 herd-time bovines were given expanded chemotherapy. In 2021, snail control with chemicals was performed in 117 372.74 hm² snail habitats, and the actual area of chemical treatment was 65 640.50 hm², while environmental improvements were performed in snail habitats covering an area of 1 244.25 hm². Data from the national schistosomiasis surveillance sites of China showed that the mean prevalence of Schistosoma japonicum infections were both zero in humans and bovines in 2021, and no S. japonicum infection was detected in snails. The results demonstrate that the overall endemic status of schistosomiasis remained at a low level in China in 2021; however, the progress towards schistosomiasis elimination was slowed and the areas of snail habitats rebounded mildly. Strengthening researches on snail diffusion and control, and improving schistosomiasis surveillance and forecast are recommended to prevent reemerging schistosomiasis.

Under the dual pressure of emerging zoonoses and the difficulty in eliminating conventional zoonoses, many uncertainties in global control of infectious diseases are challenging the achievement of sustainable development goals set by the United Nations General Assembly. One Health, developed on the basis of understanding the relationship between human diseases and animal diseases, is conducive to the prevention and control of zoonoses. The connotation of “One Health” is mainly explained by three aspects, namely the systems thinking mode of “unity of environment and man”, the practice guidance of “multi-sectoral concert” and the economic evaluation strategy of “cost-effectiveness analysis”. One Health approach has been successfully applied in the control of major infectious diseases in China, such as schistosomiasis, leading to remarkable achievements; however, there are still multiple challenges. This review proposes that much attention should be paid to top-level design, the difference between emerging zoonoses and conventional zoonoses, and the dynamic process of One Health governance during the development and application of One Health.

The burden of vector-borne diseases refers to the loss and impact of healthy life and social economy due to disability and early death caused by vector-borne diseases, including economic burden and family burden. Disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a comprehensive measure of the burden of disease. The economic burden of disease is classified into direct economic burden, indirect economic burden and intangible economic burden. Currently, the estimates of direct economic burdens include micro-cost and macro-cost models, and the estimates of indirecteconomic burdens include human resources and friction cost methods, while the intangible economic burden is generally estimated by willingness to pay. The currently available health economics approaches mainly include cost-utility analysis, cost-benefit analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. This review summarizes the approaches for estimating the burden of malaria and other vector-borne diseases.

On February 2022, WHO released the evidence-based guideline on control and elimination of human schistosomiasis, with aims to guide the elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem in disease-endemic countries by 2030 and promote the interruption of schistosomiasis transmission across the world. Based on the One Health concept, six evidence-based recommendations were proposed in this guideline. This article aims to analyze the feasibility of key aspects of this guideline in Chinese national schistosomiasis control program and illustrate the significance to guide the future actions for Chinese national schistosomiasis control program. Currently, the One Health concept has been embodied in the Chinese national schistosomiasis control program. Based on this new WHO guideline, the following recommendations are proposed for the national schistosomiasis control program of China: (1) improving the systematic framework building, facilitating the agreement of the cross-sectoral consensus, and building a high-level leadership group; (2) optimizing the current human and livestock treatments in the national schistosomiasis control program of China; (3) developing highly sensitive and specific diagnostics and the framework for verifying elimination of schistosomiasis; (4) accelerating the progress towards elimination of schistosomiasis and other parasitic diseases through integrating the national control programs for other parasitic diseases.
China/epidemiology* ; Disease Eradication ; Humans ; Public Health ; Schistosomiasis/prevention & control* ; World Health Organization